‘Top Chef’ 21 episode 5 recap: In ‘Supper Club,’ one budget-busting chef risked bringing down their entire team

Alisha Elenz and Kaleena Bliss were eliminated from “Top Chef” last week in “The Wright Way,” leaving 10 cheftestants on the main show (and two in “Last Chance Kitchen“) competing for a chance to win a feature in Food and Wine magazine; an appearance at the Food and Wine Classic in Aspen, Colorado; and $250,000 in prize money: Manny Barella, Kevin D’Andrea, Danny Garcia, Dan Jacobs, Savannah Miller, Laura Ozyilmaz, Charly Pierre, Amanda Turner, Rasika Venkatesa and Michelle Wallace.

So what happened to the chefs in season 21, episode five, “Supper Club”?

The morning after getting some tough love from host Kristen Kish and guest judge Buddha Lo about their not-so-great dishes in the Frank Lloyd Wright challenge, Laura reminisces about her closeness with her sister. It sounds like their parents had the girls fend for themselves when they were just teenagers. “I had to worry about paying the bills, to buy groceries,” she says. “It helped me so much to be the person who I am right now because I felt like I had to step up.” Sounds harsh to me, but she doesn’t want to have regrets in the competition.

Then the chefs’ phones ring. It’s a video message from Kristen. “If you look right outside your window, you’re going to see the Dane County Farmers’ Market, which is the largest producer-only farmers’ market in the nation.” She’s giving them each $100 to spend at the farmers’ market however they see fit. One catch though — there’s always a catch. These will be the supplies they use for their Quickfire Challenge, but they won’t know what the challenge actually is until after they shop.

“We’re going to be hitting this market like bats out of hell,” says Danny. Cut to the 10 cheftestants running out of their hotel like the building’s on fire. Not gonna lie, if I was a guest in that hotel and saw that, I might run too just in case. Charly’s planning to pick up ingredients that are versatile. Dan’s taking it easy, though. With his physical limitations, bat out of hell isn’t really an option. More like bat on a mall walk. Savannah, meanwhile, explains that her boyfriend gave her Quickfire Challenges before she came on the show as practice, so she’s used to shopping with a time limit. Rasika grabs some bratwurst; she’s anticipating some kind of grocery swap with her fellow chefs.

Quickfire Challenge

Kristen introduced the chefs to guest judges W. Kamau Bell and James Beard Award winning chef Tory Miller. Then she tells them about the University of Wisconsin in Madison and its residence hall chef from the 1920s to the 1950s, Carson Gulley. He and his wife were the first African-American couple to host a cooking show, so for this challenge, the chefs are going to take a literal page from his book. There’s a recipe box with 10 different sauce recipes from his cook book. They’re going to make variations of those sauces using their ingredients from the farmers’ market. Winner gets $7,500.

Michelle ended up with raisin sauce: it “has ham fat and vinegar and Worcestershire — like, why is this a recipe?” She’s going with a baked egg frittata to balance the sweet and tart sauce. Meanwhile, Danny ended up “with so many things I just can’t use” — he’s got to make a cold horseradish sauce. Dan’s cooking up a fried egg aioli for his tartar sauce. Charly’s making Creole sauce, which sounds good for him because his favorite dish his mom used to make was Creole chicken.

“I think what they’re looking for are risk-takers,” says Rasika, who’s considering jalapeno popcorn for her Spanish sauce. She has already won a Quickfire and two Elimination Challenges, so I wouldn’t doubt her too much at this point. Laura’s making an herb sauce and remembers how she fell in love with Middle Eastern food when she was in Turkey with her mom. Kevin got mushroom sauce, which doesn’t go with the very specific meal he was hoping to make, so he’s pivoting to a rahmschnitzel. Eventually time runs out and the people at the farmers’ market look up at them and cheer. Perhaps they’re just relieved they no longer have “Top Chef” contestants and camera operators running, bobbing and weaving between them at the crowded market.

Danny (Cold Horseradish Sauce): Quick Pickled Cucumber Salad with Yogurt and Sour Cream Horseradish Sauce

Dan (Tartar Sauce): Diced Grilled Vegetable Salad with Fried Bread and Fried Egg Aioli with Capers

Savannah (Mustard Sauce): Salad with Mustard and Peach Vinaigrette, Poached Egg, Plums, Peaches and Ground Cherries

Kevin (Mushroom Sauce): Poached Egg with Tzigane Rahmschnitzel — gesundheit

Charly (Creole Sauce): Fingerling Potato with Honey and Tomato Chevre and Roasted Pepper Creole Sauce

Rasika (Spanish Sauce): Spanish Sauce Moroccan Stew with Bratwurst and Jalapeno Popcorn

Amanda (Egg Sauce): Thai Salad with Coconut Egg Sauce and Sweet Pickles

Michelle (Raisin Sauce): Spinach and Feta Baked Egg with Sweet and Sour Ground Cherry, Raisin and Ham Sauce

Laura (Herb Sauce): Fattoush Salad with Fried Tomatoes, Eggplant and Feta

Manny (Figaro Sauce): Farmers’ Market Succotash with Tomato Sauce, Rainbow Trout and Kimchi

The three dishes that fell short: Michelle (the raisin sauce and the egg were like “Taylor Swift and Slipknot happening at the same time,” says Kamau), Amanda (sauce was “gloppy” and salty, says Tory) and Kevin (it lacked texture and all ate the same).

The three best dishes: Charly (fresh, had kick, reflected the original sauce well), Laura (she hit the balance between the farmers’ market ingredients and the sauce underneath) and Manny (a very homey meal). Dan doesn’t seem particularly happy that Laura is on top. She shuffled through the recipes trying to pick her favorite instead of just grabbing one at random like other chefs did. But she doesn’t end up winning the challenge. That would be Charly, who is now $7,500 richer. He plans to put the money towards his upcoming nuptials.

Elimination Challenge

The Supper Club is one of Wisconsin’s most beloved traditions. “Supper Clubs turn normal dining into a social occasion,” says guest Joe Papach, co-owner of the Harvey House with Shaina Papach, who adds that “at Supper Clubs you would have a set menu depending on what day of the week it was.” So for this week’s Elimination Challenge, they want the contestants to host “Top Chef’s” first Supper Club. Time to draw knives, though, because this is already another team challenge. The menu must include a relish tray, a fish dish, a chicken dish, a beef dish and a dessert. And they’ll get to go to the Harvey House for a Supper Club meal to get inspired. Each team gets $1,000 and 30 minutes to shop for groceries. Then the next day they’ll have two hours to cook before meal service. They’ll be cooking for the judges as well as 40 Supper Club enthusiasts.

The green team includes Amanda, Laura, Danny, Charly and Manny. Coincidentally, they’ve all worked together on a team before except for Manny. “I’m working with a whole new set of chefs, but they have worked together before,” Manny says. “But being able to communicate properly with people who you haven’t worked with before is part of the challenge.” On the purple team are Kevin, Michelle, Rasika (who has immunity), Dan and Savannah. And I was about to say that dividing up the courses is done without drama, but then Michelle asks to do the fish dish only for Rasika to chime in that she’d rather do that, having already made a dessert in the competition. So Michelle grudgingly takes dessert, rationalizing that it will be the first dessert she has made this season. “I’m a damn good team player,” says Michelle. She’s also a twin, “so I was born with a teammate.”

Some more drama at the cash registers when shopping for ingredients. The purple team runs into some budgeting problems, but immunity-haver Rasika decides to compromise on her dish to get the price down. Elsewhere, Laura seems to be dominating her team’s budget, worrying her teammates. “The budget’s blown out of the water,” Danny observes. “And now it’s just triage.” In the end, “I’ve got enough for like 12 people.” He storms off, and I can’t blame him. Laura’s dish had better be freakin’ immaculate.

On the day of the cook, Manny gives all his carrots to Danny. “If one of us goes down, we all go down,” he reasons. “It’s a team challenge for a reason.” This might be interesting to try to explain to the judges. But that’s about as much drama as we get from the cook, apart from Charly impatiently waiting for Laura’s help on his fish cook. He has delivered undercooked fish before, and he’s not about to repeat that mistake. And Danny’s tahini is too salty. “I’m definitely not feeling as confident as I have in the past,” he admits.

But “I think they got it,” says Joe Papach when looking at the two teams’ menus. I wonder when those menus were written, though. There have been some budgetary constraints and pivoting in the kitchen.

Meal Service

GREEN TEAM

Danny (Relish): Pickled Vegetables, Black Garlic Tahini, Labneh with Za’atar, Smoked Whitefish and Frena Bread

Charly (Fish): Epis-Rubbed Fried Trout, Coconut Epis Sauce and Preserved Lemon Pikliz

Kristen asks the chefs what they thought of the budget. Danny is very diplomatic about how he wishes he had more. The judges agree with Danny’s assessment that his tahini is over-salted, though the bread balances it out. “Give me some dips and bread, and I’m easy to impress,” says Kristine Miller. But the pickles weren’t that well executed. Charly’s green sauce is “fresh and tasty,” though the fish is overcooked (at least not undercooked this time!).

Amanda (Chicken): Hot Chicken Katsu, Szechuan Mala Spice, Apple Miso Mustard Sauce with Red Cabbage and Sauerkraut Relish

Manny (Beef): Ancho-Crusted New York Strip Loin, Pommes Puree and Cilantro, Epazote and Marcona Almond Salsa Verde

Amanda “crushed” the sauce, and the balance of flavors “knocked it out of the park.” The chicken is nicely fried, the cabbage nicely seasoned. Technically she got everything right. Manny’s salsa verde is flavorful and acidic, but the soft puree with tough steak don’t mesh. The meat is tough to cut and chew.

Laura (Dessert): “Four Leches” — Tres Leches Cake with Brandy Cherries and Chocolate Brandy Cocktail

It’s too soggy, too much of the milk mixture, very sweet, according to Kristine, but she’s going to eat it all. Tom thinks the cake and cocktail are okay individually but don’t complement each other. It doesn’t sound like all the money she cost her team is paying off. Meanwhile, the purple team seems to really be gelling as a unit.

PURPLE TEAM

Dan (Relish): Crudites in “Soil,” Steak Tartare, Chicken Liver Mousse, Pickled Shallots and Fried Seed Toast

Rasika (Fish): Semolina Fried Snapper, Peanut and Jaggery Dip and Smoked Sturgeon Herb Sauce

Tom thinks both dishes are lively, especially Dan’s. He hit the nail on the head with the relish tray. The liver mousse melts in your mouth and adds great acidity to the pickle. Gail Simmons is just annoyed they only got three pieces of vegetable with so much dip; Tom encourages her to use her fingers. Unfortunately, Rasika’s fish is way too salty, and her green sauce is even saltier.

Savannah (Chicken): Chicken Tonkatsu, White Sturgeon Caviar Emulsion and Sweet Pickled Cabbage

Kevin (Beef): Beef Tenderloin with Sherry Jus and Confit Potatoes

Kevin cooked his beef to his own liking, but the judges found it too undercooked. Savannah’s dish is nice, but maybe didn’t need the caviar. This dish was balanced and full, though.

Michelle (Dessert): Coconut Bread Pudding with Pineapple Cream Sauce

It’s a classic Supper Club dessert, the pineapple was caramelized nicely. Overall it’s “beautiful,” says Kristine. Tom thinks it needs more pineapple and more sauce — earlier Michelle gave up some of her pineapple to help Savannah, but it doesn’t sound like that hurt her too much. The judges just wish they had more of a good thing.

Judges’ Table

Amanda is feeling under the weather so she gets to miss this particular pressure cooker. The judges address the purple team first. They were the better team of this challenge. Not too surprising. Dan gets his flowers, Tom thought he executed “flawlessly.” Savannah and Michelle also receive praise. They’re the top three. But it sounds like Dan is the clear winner of the challenge, and indeed they do declare him the champ. “Even though I have physical limitations, my brain is sharp as a pencil. I know how to put flavors together. It just reaffirms the fact that I belong here.”

Okay, time for the green team, and the budget comes up. Danny wasn’t happy with his dish, there was a lot he wanted to do that he couldn’t, even though Gail thought it was a reasonably good start to the meal. Manny explains what he gave up to help Danny finish his dish. Tom asks Laura why she tried to do two things when the budget was so tight. She thought it was “exciting,” but Tom clocks her as the budget hog even though Danny and Manny graciously declined to throw her under the bus. However, that doesn’t excuse Manny for tough, undercooked beef or Charly for overcooked fish. I think one of them is going home because Amanda had the judges’ favorite dish on their team.

Ultimately it is Charly who gets the boot. “This is not where I wanted it to end,” he says in his exit interview. “I wish I’d cooked the fish less and added more spice to the pikliz, but it didn’t happen, so … I don’t really like to live with regrets. I always want to make sure that my dish is always representative of me, where I come from, my culture, my cuisine, and I just did that in every dish, and that makes me really happy. And I’m going to kick ass on ‘Last Chance Kitchen,’ so I’ve got to be ready for that.”

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